Analyzing informal communication in action: development and application of an informal communication coding scheme

Purpose Although informal communication is a pervasive and inherently interactive workplace phenomenon, prior research has typically relied on self-reports or experimental scenarios that capture individual perceptions and behaviors. The purpose of this study was to improve our understanding of informal communication by examining how it naturally unfolds in vivo within virtual team meetings. Design/methodology/approach We develop a coding scheme to capture informal communication in team interactions and apply this coding scheme to videotaped virtual meetings of nine newly formed student project teams. The coding scheme enables us to classify informal communication both more broadly (task-related versus social informal communication) and to identify distinct forms (e.g. self-disclosure, affirmative reactions) as they emerge in real-time interactions. Findings Our study shows how informal communication can be systematically differentiated from formal communication while also revealing how formal and informal communication alternate during team interaction. In doing so, the study generates insights into the form and development of informal communication in virtual team interactions. Originality/value This study moves beyond dominant survey and experimental approaches by developing and applying a novel coding scheme that enables the systematic analysis of informal communication at different levels of granularity. In doing so, this study provides a conceptual and methodological framework for identifying and analyzing informal communication as it naturally occurs in virtual team meetings.